How To Successfully Request a Printing Estimate
|
Requesting a printing estimate can seem like a bit of an ordeal. It’s a task that is often delegated and you might discover that this is because it can be a little bit fiddly. Ordering printing is after all a job that no one really ever notices unless and until things go wrong when the box of printing gets delivered!
So how can you successfully request a printing estimate and what do you need to be aware of as you request a quote?
Thanks to the internet it is now blissfully easy to request a print estimate. You’ll be able to find endless places to go online and request a quote. However be aware of the following:
1. Beware of print brokers:
These are organisations, quite often just individuals, who will organise your printing estimate, but they won’t actually be the people to produce your finished printing. They trade on price and make their money by being a go-between from you to the printing company.
That might sound like a good idea on the surface, but the problem with printing is that in order to be in control, you really want to have a direct relationship with the printing company who will be producing your work. Our advice is therefore to avoid print broking services who take your printing estimate request and ‘farm’ it out to all and sundry. Who knows what kind of printing you’ll get back!
2. Check where your printing estimate is going?
Thanks to the wonders of the internet it is easy to get print quotes from quite literally anywhere - worldwide. That’s good because it increases competition, but the downside is that you might well find that you’re in the UK but are inadvertently requesting a printing estimate from a firm in Tennessee, USA.
But be aware, contrary to what you might think, paper is in fact a very heavy material. Yes I know you can pick up a sheet of paper and carry it around in your pocket without even noticing it, but imagine a single ream of copier paper (that’s 500 sheets) and you’ll start to see what I mean. Shipping printing around the globe is not a good way to operate. So make sure you are requesting a printing estimate from a firm in the same country as you. And for example, if you are in London request your printing estimate from a London printer.
3. Check they really can produce your printed item themselves:
We’ve already discussed how print brokers win your work and then farm it out to other organisations. But sub-contracting is actually rife within the printing industry. This means that although you received a printing estimate from company X, they might just work on a small part of your print job and send out the balance to someone else.
Our strong recommendation is to seek a printing estimate from a company who are capable of doing the whole print job for you. And how can you work out whether this will be the case when you request a printing estimate?
The answer is by doing a bit of investigative work. You’ll often find that the search engine sends you direct to the print company’s estimating form. That’s where you’ll fill in the details for the printing estimate you require. But carry out the following check first:
Go and take a look at the main product’s part of the print company’s website. Check whether they specifically discuss the actual product for which you are about to request a printing estimate. Does it look like they know what they are talking about? And do they have any samples of a similar printed item to the one that you wish to produce? If they do then this is a good sign that this is a print firm to work with, if not then find someone else to provide you with the printing estimate you need.
As we’ve seen there can be more to requesting a printing estimate than first meets the eye. Follow my tips above and you won’t go far wrong.
|
|
Author Resource:-
Dan Jacobs is the Sales Manager for PrintHouse Corporation. With over 20 years of experience in providing high quality Design and Print Estimates. For an accurate print estimate use our Print Estimate Request Form at http://www.printhouse.co.uk/quote
|
By :
Dan Jacobs
Submitted
2010-08-27 08:44:24 |
Article From Article Mayhem
 Ezine ready view |
|
|
|
Related Articles
|
|
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlemayhem.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlemayhem.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")